Vehicle-wheel.



GEORGE W. ZWIEEL, OF PAPILLION, NEBRASKA. VEHICLE-WHEEL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 8, 1907.

Application filed March l2, 1906. Serial No. 305,698.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, GEORGE W. ZwIEBEL, a citizen of the United States,residing at Papillion, in the county of Sarpy .and State of.

Nebraska, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inVehicle-Wheels, of which the following is a speciiication.

y invention relates to vehicle-wheels; and it is the object thereof toprovide a wheel for use on automobiles and the like which may be usedeither for the driving or steering wheels of the vehicle and in whichthe b of the wheel, or that part connected with the axle of the vehicle,is connected with the remainder of the wheel in such manner that shocksand concussions caused. by the Wheel meeting with obstructions andirregularities in the road are greatly reduced and partly neutralizedwithin the wheel itself instead of being transmitted thereby to theframe and springs of the vehicle.

rther object of my invention is to provide the connecting means betweenthe hub and remainder of the wheel for the purpose above mentionedwithout the use of springs, cushions, or other elastic or resilientmateria s.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a wheelembodying my invention, and Fig. 2 is a detail axial section thereof.

In the construction illustrated my invention is shown as applied to awheel of the artillery type, such as are in common use on automo iles,the pneumatic tire 1, the tirerim 2, the fellies 8, and spokes 4 allbeing or ary construction and arrangement. The s okes, however, insteadof being connected) directly to the hub of the wheel are made shorterthan in the ordinary wheel of this type and are connected to the annulus5. The hub 6 passes through the central opening of the annulus and ateach side thereof is provided with the radiall -extending equallycranks10, which are carried on the ends of the shafts 11, journaled insuitable bearings 12 in the annulus 5, as shown in-Fig. 2.

The cranks 10 are all of equal length, the distances from the center ofthe hub 6 to the centers of the bearings 8 and from the center of theannulus to the centers of the bearings 12 are all equal, and the centersof the bearings 8 and 12 are equiangularly spaced about the centers o'fthe hub and annulus, respectively. The hub is thus held constantly at aposition eccentric to the annulus, the amount of eccentricity beingequal to the length of the cranks 10.

en the wheel is in use on a vehicle, the weight thereof normally holdsthe hub at a posltion below the center of the wheel, as shown in Fig. 1,such position being maintained as the wheel advances by rotation of thecranks 10, by which the hub to its advance, it may lag momentarilywithout stopping the advance of the hub, which may swing forward andupward in an arcurate path having a radlus equal tothe length of thecranks 10, the hub and its connections assuming the positions shown bydotted lines in Fig. 1, in which the direction of movement of the wheelis assumed to be to the right. By this forward swinging movement of thehub relative to the wheel any shock or concussion caused by engagementof the wheel with an obstacle is materially reduced,fif not entirelyneutralized, instead of being transmitted to the vehicleframe, as itwould be by the ordinary rigid The springs of the vehicle are thusrelieved of end thrust due to such shocks or concussions, and thevertical movement vehicle-frame 1n passlng over obstructlons is tionwith a greater horizontal component.

It will be obvious that the details of construction shown and describedmay be changed and modiiied without departing from rthe spirit of myinvention. As an eX- ample of such possible modification ball or rollerbearings may be used throughout instead ofthe plain bearings shown.

N ow, having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, 1s-

1.. In a wheel, an annulus held concentrically with the wheel-rim, a hubpassing through the annulus eccentrically thereto, shafts journaled inthe annulus, cranks carried by said shafts, and pins carried by saidcranks having a journaled connection with the IOO IIO

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the sh afts and connecting with bearings arms oi the hub, vthe cranksall being of upon the hub spaced the same as the shaitequal length, thedistances i'rom the center bearings. .l y of the axial opening in theWheel to the cen- 2o 3. 1n a Wheel, an annulus held concentricters oithe shafts and from the center of the 5 ally Withthe Wheel-rim, ahubpassing through hub to the centers oi' the bearings in the rathe annuluseccentrically thereto, and a pludial arms all being equal, and theshafts and rality of cranks having journaled eonnecthe bearings in thearms respectively being tions in the hub and annulus and adapted toequiangularly spaced about the centers of 25 maintain the hubconstantly'at such eccenthe axial opening and the hub. ro tric positionWith relation to the annulus. ln testimony whereof I; have hereunto ai-4; AWheel having a concentric axial openfixed my signature in thepresence of two ing, a plurality of shafts `iournaled adjacent Witnessessaid axial opening, a hub passing through GEORGE W ZWEBFL said opening,radial arms carried by the hub, J i5 bearings formed in said arms, and aplurality oi cranks carried by the shafts, the pins ot said cranksentering the bearings in the radial Witnesses:

DAVID S.` FASE, LoUrs LEsrnUR.

